Figure 626

Lower-than-usual blood pressure (BP) target. The Modification of Diet in Renal Disease study [36] also prospectively examined the effect of a lower-than-usual BP target in a larger cohort of patients with renal insufficiency. Patients were randomized to two target BPs: a usual mean arterial pressure (MAP) target of 107 mm Hg, corresponding to a BP of 140/90 mm Hg; or a low MAP target of 92 mm Hg, corresponding to a BP of 125/75 mm Hg. The changes in the glomerular filtration rate (GFR) in the two groups over a 3-year follow-up period are depicted. (The y-axis depicts the changes in GFR, and the x-axis represents months. For example, F36 means 36 months after initiation of the study.) Patients in the two groups had statistically equivalent declines in GFR. Over the last 6 months of the study, however, a trend toward greater stabilization in renal function occurred in the group randomized to the lower target.